Los Angeles Pacifica Radio Station KPFK lies in the middle of Hollywood and the economic war against workers in the entertainment industry. Many workers in the unions regularly listen to and support KPFK as a local station.

In the Writers Guild Strike, industry media and local media, especially the Los Angeles Times and news radio stations KNX and KFWB, reported only the management side of the dispute and told workers not to oppose the union's acceptance of management demands and cutbacks.

Workers in the unions saw all this as the BS that it was but had no way in local TV, radio, or press to oppose it openly. You would have thought that KPFK would have provided them an outlet and reported what was actually happening in the strike and sell outs of workers. It seems like a natural part of the KPFK local mission, like reporting the struggles of undocumented workers. However that did not happen.

No one knows why KPFK devotes so much coverage to the undocumented and their labor struggles of hotels, janitors, and security guards but then ignores the same struggles of Hollywood TV and movie writers and actors, many of whom make less money acting and writing than the workers KPFK chooses to cover.

History is repeating itself again with the AFTRA and SAG negotiations. Pursuing their own self interests, AFTRA union leaders have sided with management against its own workers and those of SAG. For an analysis what happened in the AFTRA sell out see "US: AFTRA capitulates to the studios and networks, the pressure is on SAG." http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/aftr-m31.shtml


Will KPFK finally live up to its responsibilities and start reporting what is happening in the SAG dispute and provide a voice for workers?

Just ran into an associate, someone I see maybe four times a year. I asked how he was, and he answered, “Groovy!” And then he added, “I knew you'd get that because I know you’re involved in KPFK.”